Harefield Healthwalks

Walking is an easy way for most of us to get some exercise and fresh air. I have compiled a group of walks which are easily accessible from all parts of the village. Some of them follow established routes (the Colne Valley Trail, Grand Union Canal Walk, Hillingdon Trail, and London Loop) for their section which passes through the village, while two of my own long-distance London routes (the Coal Tax Circuit and the Ring around the Underground) contribute their local sections. Of the fourteen walks listed below, eight do not exceed 5km and only two exceed 10km in length (and these may be split into shorter sections).

Harefield is surrounded by green land, so it is no surprise that some of the walks here are rural. However, there are less potentially muddy alternatives. Between them, the 331 and U9 buses cover the village, and one or other of these connects with the start and finish of each walk, with the exception of West Ruislip station, which is a short hop (or even a short walk) from the Midcroft stop on the 331 route. The main parkland site is the Green in the centre of the village, and it has fitness machinery on the Rickmansworth Road side, with Moorhall recreation ground in the south of the village the runner-up.

Suggested Harefield healthwalks, then, are listed below. Full descriptions with map links for the set of walks, with accompanying text, are to be found in a single document. The pages for each walk are linked separately in the list of walks below.

• The Green and the junior school (1.2km)
  A short, easy and level walk in the centre of the village.
  
• The Green to Moorhall recreation ground (2.2km)
  A descent from the Green via the Australian Military Cemetery to Moorhall Road.
  
• The Green to Harefield West via Hill End Road (2.4km)
  By Rickmansworth Road and Hill End Road, with a descent to the Colne Valley, taking Summerhouse Lane to Park Lane.
  
• Colne Valley Trail from Harefield West to Moorhall Road (3.0km)
  From the U9 turning circle at Harefield West, the route descends via Jack’s Lane to Jack’s Mill, and is completed southbound along the towpath of the canal.
• Grand Union Canal Walk from Moorhall Road to Harefield West (3.2km)
  A simple level walk northbound along the towpath.
• The Green to Moorhall Road via Jack’s Lock (3.5km)
  This route follows High Street, then takes Merle Avenue to its end. It descends to Jack’s Lock, then follows the canal towpath southwards to Moorhall Road.
• Grand Union Canal Walk from South Harefield to Uxbridge (5.0km)
  A simple walk along the towpath from Moorhall Road to Oxford Road, then by High Street to Uxbridge station.
• Batchworth Heath to the Green via Fieldways Farm (5.5km)
  Through Bishop’s Wood and Park Wood to the Rose and Crown Inn, then fieldpaths to Hill End, ending at the Green via Hill End Road and Rickmansworth Road.
• The Shrubs to Priory Avenue via Jackets Lane (5.6km)
  By Jackets Lane from Battlers Wells Farm, then a fieldpath to Northwood Road, the route uses streets to Breakspear Road North, and then a path to the church, before reaching Moorhall Road via the Australian Military Cemetery.
• Moorhall Road to Ducks Hill Road via The Green (5.8km)
  From Moorhall recreation ground, by paths and streets to The Green, then follows Northwood Road via Rickmanswotrth Road and Newdigate Road. The route then follows Northwood Road to Battlers Wells and on to to Ducks Hill Road along Jackets Lane.
• London Loop from Moorhall Road to Batchworth Heath (8.9km)
  This route starts with a simple level walk along the towpath, then follows Summerhouse Lane before rising to Hill End. It then reaches Batchworth Heath via Fieldways Farm, the Rose and Crown pub, and Bishop’s Wood.
  
• Ring around the Underground from West Ruislip to Moorhall Road (9.2km)
  By Clack Lane and Newyears Green, the route rises to Bayhurst Woods before descending to Harvil Road, finishing at Moorhall recreation ground.
• Hillingdon Trail from Ruislip Lido to Harefield West via Springwell Lock (15.2km)
  From the Lido, the route passes through woodland to Bayhurst Woods and descends to the Australian Military Cemetery before reaching the canal at Jack’s Lock and following the towpath to Park Lane (10.6km to this point). After a climb to Hill End, the route descends to the canal at Springwell Lock, returning along the towpath from the end of the Trail to Park Lane.
• Coal Tax Circuit from Batchworth Heath to Harefield West (15.3km)
  This section of the Coal Tax Circuit sees the route descend from Batchworth Heath to the Colne Valley and the Grand Union Canal, with a short there‑and‑back to collect a post. The canal towpath is then followed all the way to Widewater Lock at Moorhall Road.

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